Particulate drug delivery systems have been developed for delivering drugs to a subject, and such particles can be modified to target particular organs, tissues, cells, or intracellular compartments; to increase circulation time before clearance by the liver or kidney; and/or to sequester toxic drugs during transport and to release them only upon delivery to a targeted site. In order to effectively perform all of these tasks, particle characteristics (e.g. composition, size, charge, etc.) must be precisely controlled. However, current methods for manufacturing particles for drug delivery do not allow for controlled synthesis of particles with engineered properties. Nor do existing methods of manufacturing particles provide allow for rapid production and screening of particle libraries or economically feasible production of particles. For effective drug therapy, it is desirable to deliver sustained and controlled amounts of drugs to target tissues and to reduce delivery to non-target tissues in order to minimize side effects. Parameters such as particle composition, size, charge, targeting moieties, drug encapsulation, etc. can affect the biodistribution and pharmacokinetics of the drug to be delivered. It is therefore desirable to control the properties of polymeric particles so they are optimized for the most effective delivery of a drug.
Therefore, a strong need in the art remains for systems and methods that provide controlled synthesis of particles with engineered properties, such as a particular composition, size, targeting moiety, agent to be delivered, and/or charge. There is a need in the art for systems that provide for rapid screening of particle libraries and economically feasible production of particles for drug delivery.